Dr. Eva Helmerhorst Weighs in on Analysis of Gingival Crevicular Fluid

Associate Professor Dr. Eva Helmerhorst was asked to contribute her oral biology expertise to a research profile published in the Journal of Proteome Research. The article highlighted a recent investigation of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), a fluid occurring in minute amounts in the gingival crevice.

The investigation was conducted by University of Melbourne (Australia) researchers Eric Reynolds and Ivan Darby along with their colleagues. The group suggests that harvesting GCF during a patient visit to analyze the protein biomarkers present could offer dentists a less invasive way to find out if a tooth is in danger of gum disease.

As part of this research Reynolds and Darby collected GCF samples from 12 patients with a history of gum disease. The researchers then utilized direct mass spectometry (MS) analysis as well as liquid chromatography/MS/MS analysis of trypsin-digested gel bands to identify the proteins and peptides present in the samples.

In the article Dr. Helmerhorst explained, "Total GCF output is a few microliters per tooth per day and thus the sample volume that can be obtained for analysis is limited." She went on to add that the group’s use of MS analysis, "offers opportunities to unravel the proteomes of body fluids and of integuments that can be obtained at relatively low quantities."

Now that the research group has been able to identify many novel proteins in GCF they are planning longitudinal studies to further investigate how various proteins become part of GCF and why.

The Research Profile, including Dr. Helmerhorst’s additional contributions is available online.